Tag Heuer partners with Google, Intel on $1,500 luxury smartwatch

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(L-R) Intel CEO Brian Krzanich, Google Andriod Engineering VP David Singleton and TAG Heuer CEO and President of LVMH Watch Division Jean-Claude Biver pose wearing titanium Carrera Connected watches unveiled in New York on November 9, 2015. Luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer launched the smartwatch aimed at taking on the Apple Watch, but with an asking price of 1,500 USD. TAG Heuer has joined forces with technology behemoths Google and Intel to develop a connected watch able to claw back some market share from Apple, which has shipped millions of its smartwatches since launching six months ago. The watch goes on sale November 9 in the US and will debut in Europe on November12. AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

This combinations of pictures shows a TAG Heuer titanium Carrera Connected watch with various watch-faces during its launch in New York on November 9, 2015. Luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer launched the smartwatch aimed at taking on the Apple Watch, but with an asking price of 1,500 USD. TAG Heuer has joined forces with technology behemoths Google and Intel to develop a connected watch able to claw back some market share from Apple, which has shipped millions of its smartwatches since launching six months ago. The watch goes on sale November 9 in the US and will debut in Europe on November 12. AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

TAG Heuer titanium Carrera Connected watches are pictured during its launch in New York on November 9, 2015. Luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer launched the smartwatch aimed at taking on the Apple Watch, but with an asking price of 1,500 USD. TAG Heuer has joined forces with technology behemoths Google and Intel to develop a connected watch able to claw back some market share from Apple, which has shipped millions of its smartwatches since launching six months ago. The watch goes on sale November 9 in the US and will debut in Europe on November12. AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

The Swiss are now officially making a smartwatch. On Monday in New York City, TAG Heuer unveiled the Connected Watch, a $1,500 Android Wear smartwatch made in partnership with Google and Intel. It’s the first true smartwatch from a Swiss luxury watchmaker, but can it solve the steadfastly traditional industry’s looming problems?

The TAG Heuer Connected Watch is modeled after TAG’s classic Carrera model, an auto racing timepiece that dates back to 1963. If you ignore the extremely generic name, the watch’s profile and long lugs are quite recognizable to anyone familiar with TAG’s watches. The case and buckle are designed and manufactured in Switzerland by the same team that makes the rest of TAG’s watches, though the Connected Watch is not technically “Made in Switzerland” since the electronic guts come from Intel.

The Connected Watch is big at 46.2mm across and 12.8mm thick, but it’s made of titanium, so it’s surprisingly light. The bezel is marked in five-minute increments and has a black carbide coating that gives some contrast against the case’s brushed and sandblasted surfaces. Paired with one of seven colors of vulcanized rubber strap and a matching titanium buckle, it looks and wears a lot like one of TAG’s mechanical watches. From a distance it’s nearly indistinguishable from TAG’s Heuer 01.

Importantly, TAG developed the Connected Watch in partnership with Google and Intel, so electronics, aesthetics, and software features were all developed together. The project was first announced back in March. The watch runs Google’s Android Wear operating system and works with Android phones going all the way back to those running version 4.3 Jelly Bean and iPhones running iOS 8.2 or later.

It uses Bluetooth LE to connect to a smartphone, has Wi- Fi connectivity as well, and has 4 GB of onboard storage for apps and media. Gyroscopic sensors are there for basic fitness tracking, but like most competitors there is no GPS in the watch, so you will still need your smartphone nearby. The watch is also lacking a heart rate sensor and a speaker, so all notifications come through vibration. The watch will get up to 30 hours of battery life with normal use and comes with a USB charging cradle for powering up.

The $1,500 price tag makes it more than four times the price of most other high-end Android Wear watches and in line with the likes of the Apple Watch HermÃ¨s edition. The Connected Watch went on sale at TAG’s New York City boutique Monday, with watches available at nine TAG Heuer boutiques and 19 retail partners across the U.S. and Canada on Tuesday. International rollout will come over the next month.

For the premium price, TAG is offering additional features that most Android Wear watches cannot access. Owners register directly with TAG Heuer and gain access to features not available to people sporting the latest Huawei or LG watches, including TAG Heuer watch faces, special timing apps, and apps that offer things like restaurant recommendations and let you track your golf game. In the coming months, TAG will also introduce watch faces designed with brand ambassadors, who include the likes of Tom Brady, Cara Delevingne, and Leonardo DiCaprio. For most users, these software features alone probably aren’t worth the extra cost, but it does show TAG understands that with smartwatches the content is just as important as the hardware.

Now, one thing TAG can offer that none of its competitors can is a service it calls “connected to eternity.” After two years, a Connected Watch owner can bring the watch into a TAG Heuer retailer, trade it in with an additional $1,500, and receive a mechanical TAG Heuer watch in return. Sure, it’s not a one-for-one trade, but it’s definitely a big step up over letting a $1,500 Connected Watch sit dormant in a drawer for the next decade after its software becomes obsolete, until you finally toss it in the garbage.

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